The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is considering a major restructuring that could result in the layoff of thousands of its employees and the transfer of some of its responsibilities to other agencies, including to US President Donald Trump’s Peace Council, according to several media reports citing diplomatic sources.
The announced proposal is led by UNRWA Acting Commissioner General Christian Saunders and comes as the agency faces a serious financial crisis.
Trump’s Peace Council (BoP), established under the framework approved by the UN Security Council in November 2025, is responsible for overseeing transitional governance, reconstruction, economic recovery and coordination of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The BoP has been explicit in its opposition to the UN agency created solely for Palestinian refugees, making clear in a July 1 statement that “UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza.”
“We are turning the page on the complexity of perpetual aid dependency and conflict. The people of Gaza deserve better,” the BoP said in a social media post on September 25.
BoP: UNRWA “fails” to “contribute to a deradicalized Gaza Strip”
In the same message, the BoP said it would “work only with trusted partners who will deliver results for the people of Gaza and contribute to a deradicalized Strip. UNRWA fails these litmus tests.”
However, the Associated Press reported, also on September 25, that BoP representatives held several private meetings with UNRWA officials. A BoP official acknowledged that some programs and selected agency employees could continue if they were effective and accountable, while asserting that the UN body’s institutional role was ending.
UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer reported last week that there was a plan to dismantle UNRWA, which has long faced criticism from Israel, the United States and UN Watch over allegations of links between some of its employees and terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), including participating in the October 7 attacks and holding hostages.
According to Israel Hayomwhich cites Arab and Western diplomatic sources, discussions took place on the transfer of certain responsibilities from UNRWA to the BoP and other agencies.
Part of the agency’s responsibilities could also be transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank.
The reported proposal was presented by Saunders at a meeting of UNRWA’s Advisory Commission, with the agency’s financial woes cited as one of the main reasons for the restructuring. Saunders told Anadolu Agency on October 20 that the agency’s deficit stood at around $70 million.
“If we do not receive money in the very near future, I will have to take regrettable measures to ensure that we can finish the year and pay our staff salaries,” Saunders warned.
The head of the Arab Staff Union in Gaza, Mustafa Al-Ghoul, told the anti-Zionist news site Mondoweiss last week that UNRWA had fired about 1,000 employees in Gaza and let 2,000 retire without replacing them, leaving about 10,500 remaining.
Saunders gave the same figures in the Anadolu Agency interview, saying: “We have 10,500 people on the ground (in the Gaza Strip).”
He also expressed support for the broader international framework for Gaza, saying: “US President Trump’s 20-point plan, UN Security Council Resolution 2803, the Peace Council and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza – we fully support these efforts. »
Furthermore, the French-speaking Swiss daily Time released a survey last week that found Saunders predicted UNRWA would close “within four or five years.” This has not yet been independently verified.
BoP to exercise transitional authority in Gaza until PA completes reform
Under the UN-backed framework, the BoP is to exercise transitional authority in Gaza until the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program and can safely and effectively regain control. In the meantime, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is meant to serve as an interim technocratic administration.
Currently, UNRWA claims to help more than 1.7 million Palestinians in Gaza, providing health care in 11 centers, sending about 300,000 children to school and providing clean water to about 820,000 people.
It also claims to provide essential services to nearly six million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.
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